Freelander 1 New to LR; new to Freelander; newish to a spanner

Finally found one, a 2004 TD4 3-door with all the trimmings and I paid from what I can tell (as a muggle) mid-high range for the spec I wanted, but it's a car I intend to keep for at least 50k/5 years so I wasn't worried about the price that much.

Decided to take it to a local LR specialist to give it a look over and to resolve a few issues that I felt were urgent, including replacing the crankcase breather which (as it turned out) was the original and about 95% blocked as well as replacing one of the front track rod end ball joints which was gone; had the VCU checked and it's all good and just had the tracking done front and rear. Oil and filter was changed too.

But, now that's done I want to get as much work done on it myself and am asking for advice on what you all think are the most important things to get done. In my mind I think EGR blanking, silicone hose and maybe some chemicals to give the injectors a good clean - with this in mind, does anyone have specific manufacturers, brands etc. they can recommend? The mechanic at the garage said to keep clear of additives and just spend a month using premium diesel, but don't know what to make of that.

Would also appreciate opinions on which tyres are recommended for general road use with maybe the odd bit of off road messing around.

Anyhoo, I'm pretty clueless with engines/cars but one of the reasons for getting the Freelander was that I felt it was time to change that.... am looking forward to messing up and asking for help.

Rave disk manwell over ere. Tis the repair bible.

https://www.landyzone.co.uk/land-rover/rave-disk-maintenance-manual.260227/

TSR2 said:

Finally found one, a 2004 TD4 3-door with all the trimmings and I paid from what I can tell (as a muggle) mid-high range for the spec I wanted, but it's a car I intend to keep for at least 50k/5 years so I wasn't worried about the price that much.

Decided to take it to a local LR specialist to give it a look over and to resolve a few issues that I felt were urgent, including replacing the crankcase breather which (as it turned out) was the original and about 95% blocked as well as replacing one of the front track rod end ball joints which was gone; had the VCU checked and it's all good and just had the tracking done front and rear. Oil and filter was changed too.

But, now that's done I want to get as much work done on it myself and am asking for advice on what you all think are the most important things to get done. In my mind I think EGR blanking, silicone hose and maybe some chemicals to give the injectors a good clean - with this in mind, does anyone have specific manufacturers, brands etc. they can recommend? The mechanic at the garage said to keep clear of additives and just spend a month using premium diesel, but don't know what to make of that.

Would also appreciate opinions on which tyres are recommended for general road use with maybe the odd bit of off road messing around.

Anyhoo, I'm pretty clueless with engines/cars but one of the reasons for getting the Freelander was that I felt it was time to change that.... am looking forward to messing up and asking for help.

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Nice looking motor.

One of the first things you'll learn is that supposed "LR Specialist" garages may or may not know what they are doing and have much less chance of knowing what they are doing when presented with a Freelander.

So the first thing I'd do myself is check the VCU. The VCU is key to a reliable Freelander that isn't going to hand you very expensive repair bills. Info on checking it here...

https://www.landyzone.co.uk/land-rover/tests-new-freelander-owners-should-do-on-their-car.312863/

With regard to additives and injector cleaning - I'm not sure why the garage is against chemicals and pro premium diesel - I wonder what they put in premium diesel? Personally, I drive an L Series diesel - so prefer the smokey restricted character of diesel engine. However, there are those on here that like their engine running smoothly and efficiently who recommend cleaning agents added to the fuel. Gummed up injectors are often a cause for problems with TD4s, they do need to be working well on the TD4 and don't appear to like doing so once they have a few miles on them.

There are some preventative maintenance things you can do with a TD4, such as replacing the O Rings on the high pressure fuel pump pressure regulator, replacement fuel rail pressure sensor loom, carrying a spare low pressure fuel pump and filter. These appear to be the common faults. Most parts of Freelander are pretty reliable.

Hi and welcome to the mad house.

TSR2 said:

had the VCU checked and it's all good

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As GG said above. I'd be checking the VCU by doing the OWUT. You can't take any LR "specialists" work for it, as LR themselves don't know an easy way to test the VCU.
Did this "specialist" check that all 4 tyres are identical with least worn on the rear, for instance?
Having odd tyres on the Freelander is death to the 4X4 system.

TSR2 said:

The mechanic at the garage said to keep clear of additives

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A monthly dose of Comma Diesel Magic available from Halfords will keep the injectors clean and cost less then a month on premium diesel.

Nodge68 said:

A monthly dose of Comma Diesel Magic available from Halfords will keep the injectors clean and cost less then a month on premium diesel.

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Hippo said:

Rave disk manwell over ere. Tis the repair bible.

https://www.landyzone.co.uk/land-rover/rave-disk-maintenance-manual.260227/

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Thanks, I think that's going to be very useful.

GrumpyGel said:

Nice looking motor.

One of the first things you'll learn is that supposed "LR Specialist" garages may or may not know what they are doing and have much less chance of knowing what they are doing when presented with a Freelander.

So the first thing I'd do myself is check the VCU. The VCU is key to a reliable Freelander that isn't going to hand you very expensive repair bills. Info on checking it here...

https://www.landyzone.co.uk/land-rover/tests-new-freelander-owners-should-do-on-their-car.312863/

With regard to additives and injector cleaning - I'm not sure why the garage is against chemicals and pro premium diesel - I wonder what they put in premium diesel? Personally, I drive an L Series diesel - so prefer the smokey restricted character of diesel engine. However, there are those on here that like their engine running smoothly and efficiently who recommend cleaning agents added to the fuel. Gummed up injectors are often a cause for problems with TD4s, they do need to be working well on the TD4 and don't appear to like doing so once they have a few miles on them.

There are some preventative maintenance things you can do with a TD4, such as replacing the O Rings on the high pressure fuel pump pressure regulator, replacement fuel rail pressure sensor loom, carrying a spare low pressure fuel pump and filter. These appear to be the common faults. Most parts of Freelander are pretty reliable.

Click to expand...

Nodge68 said:

Hi and welcome to the mad house.

As GG said above. I'd be checking the VCU by doing the OWUT. You can't take any LR "specialists" work for it, as LR themselves don't know an easy way to test the VCU.
Did this "specialist" check that all 4 tyres are identical with least worn on the rear, for instance?
Having odd tyres on the Freelander is death to the 4X4 system.

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To give the mechanic credit, he did say he did the wheel-up test as the test - so maybe he's on this forum! That said, advice noted and I'll do my own test ASAP - better safe than sorry. The good thing is that I want in after spending a few weeks lurking on here, reading and heeding plenty of the advice - never before have three letters so worried as VCU has!

I'll pick up some injector cleaner tomorrow.

Are the EGR blanking kits much of a muchness? Trying to work out why some are nearer £60 and others £24.99.

In regards to tyres, they are all the same type, age etc. the tracking was out and after the test I'm minded to get at least two new ones for the rear. Some reading around had led me to the Continental Cross Contact, I don't imagine doing much (if any) serious off roading, any views on those?

One of the fun things has been understanding the noises which are normal for a Freelander compared to my Mk5 Golf, as well as the handling characteristics which are a bit different! One thing I've enjoyed is how many people actually look at the car...

TSR2 said:

Some reading around had led me to the Continental Cross Contact, I don't imagine doing much (if any) serious off roading, any views on those?

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Expensive and short lived, but with 18" rims, your options are very limited. I'm running Copper Touring tyres on my 18s but I went for larger 235/55/18 to give a bit more comfort to the ride.
If money were no option, then Michelin Latitude Cross are the tyres to get. They'll last longer than the Conti's bit cost a bit more.